A Hero's Son
by penandpaper67
Summary: Albus is finally off to Hogwarts, but it is not exactly what he expected. His school years will be riddled with difficult decisions that will determine whether or not he will live up to his father's name. Dark Albus. Maybe a pairing or two.
1. Chapter 1: Anxiety and a New Friend

**I finally got around to putting something up! This is my first fanfic, so reviews would be great. It's kind of boring so far, but things get going in the next chapter. JKR owns pretty much everything here (except the stuff that I made up : P), if you didn't know. I'm almost done with the second chapter, so I'll post that soon.**

Chapter 1 ~ Anxiety and a New Friend

Albus Severus Potter strolled down the train, looking for a compartment that was not already filled to the brim with students. Rose Weasley walked alongside him, chatting lightly about whatever popped into her head. Albus listened and nodded when appropriate, but truly he was lost in thought. His father's recent words had calmed him a bit, but his mind was still spinning with the fear of being sorted into Slytherin house. Albus thought that perhaps his father had been lying to make him feel better. How could Harry Potter ever be considered for Slytherin? He had been the model Gryffindor, the brave Quidditch jock who saved the day and became a hero practically fifty times over. Albus so wanted to be like his father, and if he was sorted into Slytherin, he would never be able to complete his goal. If that happened, he couldn't even imagine…

"Here's a place! There's only one kid in here," said Rose.

"Umm… Can we sit here?" Albus asked the small boy in the corner of the compartment.

"Oh, uh, sure," he said quietly. His large brown eyes looked up at them, simultaneously full of wonder and anxiety. He was not yet in his robes, still wearing his Muggle t-shirt and faded blue jeans. Rose and Albus sat down, initiating a long awkward silence in which the three just stared at each other. Albus still was far too lost in thought to pay attention to anything, and the other boy seemed paralyzed by his nervousness. After realizing that neither of the boys was going to talk without provocation, Rose introduced herself in her usual cheerful manner.

"Hello, I'm Rose Weasley and this is Albus Potter. What's your name?"

The small boy gazed apprehensively at her and squeaked, "You two know each other? I knew I'd be left out here. I don't know anyone."

"That's okay," Albus reassured, stepping out of his thoughts for a moment. "A lot of people come in without knowing anyone. My dad did."

"So did my mum," Rose said kindly. The boy seemed so small and scared, she just wanted to run over and give him a big hug.

"My name's Mitchell Brown," he said, heaving a sigh and seeming a bit relieved. "Nice to meet you."

Suddenly the compartment door swung open, revealing James and his cronies, the Scamander boys. Lorcan and Lysander, James' constant partners in crime at Hogwarts, were nearly identical. Tall and blond, with warm brown eyes and a tendency for mischief, they were practically the reincarnation of the Weasley twins. Well, except for the fact that George was still alive, and they allowed themselves to be bested in pranks by the eldest Potter boy. James definitely lived up to his name, and he did not want his little brother or cousin to ruin his reputation. Not that he had much of one, being a second year…

"There you are, Al. Hey, who's the midget?" he inquired rudely.

"I'm not a midget, if it's me you're referring to," said Mitchell defiantly.

"Don't worry, Mitchell, he's just my brother. He's always like that," Albus informed him. He looked over at Mitchell approvingly; he had been starting to think that the kid didn't have any guts, but his response to James' insult made Albus think that Mitchell had some Gryffindor in him.

"Anyways, I wanted to relieve myself of Gran's famous Hogwarts Express sandwiches and came here to deliver them to the unsuspecting first years," James drawled.

"Well, now they're going to suspect something since you said that, James," laughed Lysander, the more talkative of the two eccentric brothers, in his slow smooth voice. "Let's go back to our compartment."

"Sorry littlies, we've got big kid stuff to do!" James said in a cutesy voice before walking off. The blond brothers gave a quick wave and were off as well.

"He's only one year older than me, but he still says stuff like that," Albus shook his head, thinking of how cocky James had gotten since he had started at Hogwarts. Then he turned to face what James had left him. It was a tradition every year for Molly Weasley (their grandmother, not their cousin) to make sandwiches for all of her grandkids for the train ride, just like she had for her kids growing up. Apparently, they were so disgusting that they were always given to the first years. Usually the first years weren't gullible enough to eat them.

"Hey, can I have one of those?" Mitchell asked. "I'm starving."

"You do know that a food cart will come around pretty soon. Maybe in twenty minutes or so. The food on there is tons better than those." Rose informed him.

"Really? Anyways, I don't care. Can you just pass one here?"

Albus and Rose admired the boy's courage as he took a ham and cheese sandwich out of a brown paper bag. They intently watched as he took a bite of the moldy looking bread.

"Mmmm. This is…amazing! It tastes like candy!" Mitchell declared.

"What?" Rose and Albus exclaimed simultaneously.

"Seriously! It tastes like… I can't place it."

Albus swiped the sandwich from his hand, took a steady bite, and chewed. "Hmmm…Fizzing Whizbee. Gran must've spelled it. Wonder if all of them taste the same? Jeez, everyone else's been missing out all these years. Guess it's a good thing we're the ones who discovered this!"

"What's Fizzing Whizbee?" asked Mitchell.

Albus and Rose looked at each other in awe. The wizarding child who didn't know the wonders of Fizzing Whizbees must be extremely unfortunate.

"I…I've never heard of most of this before. You see, both my parents are non-magical."

"Oh, you're Muggle-born. That makes a lot of sense then," Rose stated.

"Is it that obvious, then? I knew it. I'm going be so far behind everybody else! I mean you guys grew up with wizards didn't you? You must know tons about magic and I know absolutely nothing!" Mitchell seemed to twitch with anxiety.

Rose gave him a comforting smile and a friendly pat on the knee. "Don't worry. Everybody starts off at pretty much the same place. I mean, people who grew up in wizarding families like Albus and I tend to have more general knowledge about magical things, but we really can't cast any spells or anything like that."

Mitchell seemed to perk up a bit more after hearing that and went back to his Fizzing Whizbee sandwich. For the rest of the ride, they all chatted a bit, and later Albus and Mitchell shoved Rose out so they could change into their robes. Finally, the train came to a halt as they arrived at the station. Albus nearly flung himself out of the train with excitement. His nervousness had vanished, replaced by sheer anticipation. He was finally here. Hogwarts. The place where he could make a name for himself.

**Please let me know what you think! Read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Sorting

**A/N: So this is chapter 2. Please don't expect me to be quite so quick about my future chapters; I had this one mostly written when I put up the first chapter. Thanks to RedCloakedMaiden for the review! This chapter's a bit predictable, but hopefully the story will get better as it goes on. **

Chapter 2 ~ The Sorting

"Firs' years, over here!" came a deep rumbling voice from down the platform. Albus, Rose, and Mitchell headed down towards a great giant of a man who looked down on them with crinkly black eyes. "Hello Rose, Albus," called Hagrid. They had met the amiable half-giant long ago at a family party. He was still good friends with their parents to that day and often came to visit; thus he knew all of the Weasley and Potter children quite well indeed. "How are yeh?"

"We're great Hagrid, thanks!" said Albus. "Mum and Dad say hello."

"Same here," giggled Rose with a smile.

Mitchell stood a bit awkwardly until Hagrid shoved them all into the tiny wooden boats. He still felt out of place here, even though Rose and Albus were so kind. He had a feeling that not all wizards were quite so nice. Once he got into a boat along with Rose and Albus, however, he became far too distracted by the glorious Hogwarts grounds and Hogwarts itself, once it came into view. He ooh-ed and ah-ed along with the rest of the first years as he realized that it didn't matter anymore; he would be on this gorgeous campus to learn about magic. What else could one want?

Meanwhile Albus' fears about being sorted into the wrong house had returned. He really, really wanted to be in Gryffindor. Or did he? Did he only want to be in Gryffindor because his father had been? Did he despise Slytherin merely because his father was biased towards them? He had never questioned this before, but his doubts were bringing forward thoughts that would never have crossed his mind had he not been so nervous. _Of course I want to be in Gryffindor_, he thought, eyes squinting shut for a moment. _I've never wanted anything more_. _I've always wanted to be in Gryffindor, to be brave and courageous just like my dad._ But now he wasn't quite so sure…

Rose was enjoying the ride over, looking deep into the black water, searching for the giant squid her Uncle George had told her so much about. She wasn't particularly worried about the sorting; she knew too much about the school from her parents, cousins, assorted uncles and aunts, and family friends to be particularly perturbed by anything. She was more worried about Albus. She knew him very well, and it was extremely unusual for him to be so serious about something like this. He was pondering the sorting too extensively, and she knew that could get him into trouble.

Far too soon, they reached the castle. Hagrid pounded on the door, which was opened by a relatively young and cheerful witch. "Thanks, Hagrid. I'll take them from here. Come on, everyone, follow me." She led them into a small chamber off the side of the Great Hall. "I'm Professor Lona, Deputy Headmistress, Charms teacher, and Head of Ravenclaw House. In about five minutes, you'll all be sorted into your respective houses. There's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and of course, Ravenclaw. You'll live and have classes with the other people from your house while you're here. Wait here for a moment while I set up, and I'll be back in a second."

As soon as Professor Lona had left, all of the first years burst into conversation. Rose and Albus observed the future Slytherin crew with already growing hatred, while the Slytherin gang glared right back. Scorpius Malfoy, Ernest Goyle, and Reginald Nott were clearly plotting something, but the Professor came back too quickly for them to get started. "We're ready for you," she said gleefully.

The knot of first years eyed each other for a moment before proceeding cautiously into the Great Hall. All of the older students were already seated with their heads turned towards the marching line of nervous eleven year olds. Professor Lona reached the front and picked up a long parchment scroll, which she unrolled while gesturing to the first years to form a line in front of the teachers' table. Albus was practically shaking in his shoes; he barely noticed the hat form a mouth and begin to sing its annual song. Of course he knew the attributes of the people sorted into the different houses. Of course he knew that Gryffindor was filled with people of great courage and determination, like his father and even James, who surprisingly had quite a hero complex for one so young and frivolous. Albus thought that James was a bit of an idiot, and though he knew what he was thinking a lot of the time, he often didn't agree with it. James acted from the heart, while Albus used his head. _I'll be in Gryffindor in less than five minutes_, he thought as Professor Lona started reading off names and the hat began sorting. _For sure_. He added with wavering certainty.

"Brown, Mitchell," yelled Professor Lona. The shivering form of Mitchell made its way up to the stool and jammed the hat on its head. The hat seemed to debate for a minute, then shouted out "_GRIFFINDOR!_" A polite round of clapping commenced around the hall before the next name was called, and Mitchell made his shaky way to sit at the empty end of the Gryffindor table reserved for first year students. Albus smiled a bit as he saw Mitchell glancing at him with a smirk on his face.

After this, the sorting passed far too quickly. Albus had barely paid any attention until he heard a particularly familiar name called across the hall. "Malfoy, Scorpius." The hat's obvious house placement came moments later. "_SLYTHERIN!_" Polite clapping sounded, while a quite jeer rose from the Gryffindor table. Obviously the Weasleys and their friends were not going to miss the chance to bash their least favorite pureblood family. Again, Albus felt a small smile creep across his face as he snuck a peak at Rose. Unfortunately, this didn't last long. He heard the loud "Potter, Albus," as if it came from extremely far away, yet it still had the power to wipe every bit of a smile off of his face. The crowd started to whisper excitedly at the prospect of seeing the son of the famous Harry Potter. He didn't know exactly how he got to the stool and the hat, but he was there, and then, as if no time had passed at all, the hat was on his head. _Hmmmm_… the hat mused. _You are quite a difficult one, aren't you? Ah well, I'll have to choose something. I guess it'll be…_

"_SLYTHERIN!_" the hat called to the hall.

There was silence. Everyone in the hall was frozen. No one had expected this. Especially not Albus. Slowly, slowly, the students and teachers came back to life and began to clap slowly. Albus did not move. He did not realize that he was still sitting on the stool until Professor Lona came over and ushered him to the Slytherin table. On the way over he caught his brother glaring hard at him from the Gryffindor table. The table where Albus should have been sitting. But instead he was shivering next to Scorpius Malfoy and Max Harper, feeling a hundred times worse than he had standing in front of the hall. He didn't even notice his cousin being sorted into Gryffindor, or even the start of the feast. The Slytherins ignored him and he ignored them. _Although,_ he thought, _they're my fellow Slytherins now._ He gave a little grimace. This year could be interesting, considering the grudge that most Death Eaters' kids and grandkids had against his family. He thought he would be lucky to make one friend, let alone avoid getting beaten up every day.

**A/N: Please let me know what you think! Read and review! If you have any ideas, please feel free to suggest them as well.**


	3. Chapter 3: On the Other Side of the Hall

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I was going to make it include Albus' first day of classes, but I decided to make it into a separate chapter. This one's pretty static and nothing really happens, but it sets up a lot for the future. Thanks again to the reviewers and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

_Chapter 3 ~ On The Other Side of The Hall_

"_SLYTHERIN!_" the Sorting Hat cried.

Rose's eyes widened in shock. She was sure she hadn't heard the Sorting Hat correctly. Surely it had said Gryffindor. Albus couldn't, could never, be in Slytherin. He was friendly, he was smart, he was brave. Although she had expected he would be in Gryffindor with her, he would fit much, much better in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Slytherin was just… Rose shuddered. She tried, but failed, to catch Albus' eye. He seemed too preoccupied. She was still in the middle of that difficult task when Professor Lona called her name. She wasn't on the stool for two seconds before the Sorting Hat called out "_GRYFFINDOR!_" as expected. She sent Albus one last searching glance, but she was sure she didn't catch it. _Ah well,_ she thought. _I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll be able to talk to him tomorrow, but for now I should just enjoy myself._

She stared at the table in front of her and spied an empty seat next to Mitchell. On her way there, she passed James, who looked a bit angry and white in the face. She distinctly heard him say "At least the other first year in our family is in the right house…" Rose cringed, realizing that this could be the start of an extremely intense brotherly feud. She was no longer looking forward to the Christmas holidays at the Potter house, as it would probably be the first time Albus and James were forced into close quarters after this incident. Rose loved the two of them, but they were extremely prone to fighting amongst themselves, and something like this could only make it much worse. James was very much the proud Gryffindor, and after Albus got over his house placement, Rose was sure that he would begin to assimilate with the Slytherins.

She settled in next to Mitchell just as the Sorting ended. The headmaster rose. He was a large, formidable man with a bristling mustache and staring brown eyes. His hair, a dirty blond, was cut at a medium length. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him until he spoke; his voice was a beautifully rich and melodic tone, completely incongruous to his bulky figure. "Good evening, students, and welcome to Hogwarts. For those of you who don't know me, I am Herman Long, headmaster of this school. The start of term announcements for this year are decidedly short, so I will just make them before you are distracted by the copious amounts of food that you will surely intake. No changes in rules; as always, forbidden items are hung on Professor Filch's office door. No midnight wanderings in the Forbidden Forest (or anywhere else, I might add), or more than a detention will await you. No changes in staff this year, so you all get every single one of your beloved teachers back. Now I believe that's all…yes, so enjoy!"

The food popped up on the platters at his last words. Rose eagerly reached for some, laughing at Mitchell's astonished face. "You'll get used to stuff like that soon enough," she grinned.

Mitchell laughed a bit too. "I sure hope so," he said, a bit pensively. "Hey Rose. Albus doesn't look too happy over there."

Rose craned her neck to get a peek at her cousin. Mitchell was right. Albus was sitting so that he took up as little room as was possible. His arms and legs were pulled in tight to his body, and he seemed to be shivering a bit. His green eyes were focused on something that Rose couldn't see, but it seemed like a point on the wall. He wasn't talking. He wasn't eating. He clearly felt like an outsider and was making the fact that he was even more apparent.

Mitchell interrupted Rose's thoughts. "Is Slytherin bad or something? They don't seem such a friendly lot."

"Slytherin's not _bad_," Rose said slowly. "There were just some people in that house who did some really bad things. Basically our whole family was in Gryffindor so Albus is probably a bit put out – "

"Wait, you're related to him?" Mitchell asked bluntly.

"Hm, oh yeah. We're cousins. Our family's really big, you see us everywhere."

Silence. "So who were these bad people?"

Oh god. Muggle-borns could really get annoying sometimes. "It's kind of something that you'll need to know, but right now is not the time to tell you. It's a really long story, see. I'll give you the basic facts when we get to the common room."

Her words were like a signal. The headmaster stood, bid them goodnight, and the whole hall moved as a single mass towards the doors. Just before leaving the Entrance Hall for the staircase, Rose caught sight of Albus, moving along as if he were a ghost. She stood in place, watching him. He didn't really seem to be paying attention to anything, and she still couldn't get him to catch her gaze. _He'll get over it_, she thought as he progressed towards the passageway down to the dungeons. And yet, she had a feeling that her time on the train with Albus had been like a goodbye, and her beloved cousin Albus would be someone completely different the next time she saw him.

**A/N: Please review! I don't know when I have the next chapter up, but it'll definitely be longer, so it might be another week or so.**


	4. Chapter 4: Slytherins of All Sorts

**A/N: Sorry this one's so short, guys. I wanted to get something up because I'm not going to have computer access (except for maybe a couple of days) for two weeks starting this weekend. I'm also on vacation right now so my time allotted to write is spotty. I'll be updating a lot starting the second week of August though, so watch for that (at least until school starts...). Just wanted to let you know though not to expect another chapter for a while. Thanks for the reviews! Nothing much happens in this chapter, but hopefully the next one will be significantly longer with much more going on. **

_Chapter 4 ~ Slytherins of All Sorts_

Albus was shown into the Slytherin common room by Herman Baddock, a fifth year prefect, who constantly pointed out various items of interest along the way. Albus wasn't listening much. He walked along side of a couple other Slytherin first years, but didn't talk. A small, sickly looking boy seemed to notice this and came up beside Albus. "Hello," he said politely. "You're a first year too, right? I saw you being sorted. Didn't catch your name though…" he hinted and looked pointedly at Albus.

"Albus," the downcast Gryffindor wannabe grunted, though not so gruffly as to scare the other boy off.

"I'm Neil Eskin. Hey, are you Muggle-born too? It's only, you seem so shy…"

Albus didn't fully comprehend the meaning of the comment at first. Then it sunk in. A Muggle-born. In Slytherin. That kid was done for. He was even worse off than Albus. Well, maybe not, but it was a close call. However if they stuck together, made friends with the right people… Albus perked up for the first time since the Sorting Hat had announced those fatal words to the hall. He was not alone, he wouldn't be alone, he could get through this. "No, I'm not Muggle-born. It's just…my family."

By now they had entered the common room, and the first years feasted their eyes for the first time upon their new, comfortable dungeon home. "Girls to the right, boys to the left," called Baddock before heading off with a knot of fifth years to chat. The first year boys trudged along the hall to their rooms, and Albus realized exactly who he would be staying with for a full seven years. Scorpius Malfoy, Ernest Goyle, and Reginald Nott were already glaring at him and Neil from the moment they set foot into the dormitory room. Of course, they didn't yet know that Neil was Muggle-born, but he was guilty merely by association.

"_Potter_," Malfoy spat, venom coating his tone.

"_Malfoy_," Albus hissed back, with as much force as he could muster.

"How did you end up here? The son of the famous Gryffindor in our noble house – "

"Your house is in no way noble!"

"It's your house too," sniggered Scorpius, gaining several guffaws from his brainless cronies.

"Look, Malfoy," sighed Albus. "Let's make a truce, here and now. I don't want to have to deal with your constant insults; the older students will be enough, not to mention my own family." Albus shuddered. "I'm not saying we have to be friends, we should just ignore each other."

"Fine with me," settled Scorpius. "Once you prove to everyone that you're a true Slytherin."

"How would I do that?" asked Albus cynically.

"We'll ask Baddock tomorrow. He said something about an initiation test."

Albus looked behind him at Neil, who looked a bit nervous by this time. He stepped up next to Albus and introduced himself, and everyone else gave their names as well.

"Eskin…" pondered Malfoy. "Don't believe I've heard that name before."

"Probably because I'm Muggle-born," Neil said, completely unaware of Slytherin prejudices. Thus he was still surprised when Scorpius, Ernest, and Reginald stared at him disbelievingly.

"Muggle-born?" sniggered Scorpius. "You mean you're a Mudblood?"

"Hey, don't call him that!" defended Albus.

"Aw, look at the pseudo-Gryffindor, being all brave. Shucks, he even stands up for filth worse than him, doesn't he?" Nott sneered, speaking for the first time. He tended toward the talkative, while Goyle was strong and silent.

"Nothing's worse than a _Potter_," snarled Scorpius.

Albus looked away from the scene. He couldn't take this anymore, it was too much. "We should probably go to bed soon," he whispered. "We should save the arguing for when we can actually hex each other."

Everybody stood silently for a moment, staring at the ground before clambering into their respective beds. Neil shot Albus a confused look before the lights were turned out. Albus would have to explain everything in the morning, so that Neil could get the unbiased version of events. Well maybe they weren't unbiased, but at least they were factual… Weren't they?

**A/N: Let me know what you think! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Introductions

**A/N: Sorry I took so long to update guys! Life kinda got in the way. I hopefully won't take quite as long to update with the next chapter, but I won't promise anything. Nothing much happens here, it's really just a set-up for future events. Anyways, thanks to any reviewers! And please let me know what you think!**

_Chapter 5 ~ Introductions_

Morning dawned bright and early for Albus. He hadn't slept well at all, tossing and turning constantly, recounting the scene of the Sorting in his mind. _If you think yesterday was bad, _Albus thought to himself. He knew that whatever was coming today couldn't be good. And whatever Baddock said about an initiation… Albus couldn't even imagine what horrors that could possibly entail.

As he pulled on his robes, Albus noticed Neil staring at him from his bed. "Would you like to come down with me?" Albus mouthed, unwilling to awaken and anger the others. Neil nodded and followed Albus into the empty common room. It was just barely light, far too early for others to be up and about.

Neil stared at Albus for a minute before starting with the questioning. "What was that about last night?"

Albus sighed, thinking of the best way to explain it in the most concise manner possible. "The four houses are all known for different things; you probably learned that from the sorting. Well, Slytherin consists mostly of prejudiced wizards who do not accept Muggle-borns as true wizards and witches. The house is known for turning out the most evil wizards of all time, and it has an intense rivalry with the house most of my family's from, Gryffindor."

"Why are we in this house then, if everyone else obviously hates us?"

"Dunno," answered Albus sulkily. "My dad's gonna kill me when he finds out though. And my brother's probably going to kill me the next time he sees me."

"Your dad's that intense about those things? And you have a brother too?"

"Yeah, my brother's a Gryffindor. Second year. My dad's, well… I guess you could say he's kind of famous. He's got an image he has to keep up, and if people find his son is a Slytherin, well… Let's just say things could get interesting."

Neil sucked in his breath and plopped down into a cushy armchair. "How'd your father get famous?" he asked curiously.

Albus gave a little half smirk. "That's a long story, but I guess I could tell it if you want to know. It's pretty much common knowledge in the wizarding world, so it wouldn't hurt for you to know."

For the next hour or so, Albus told the condensed version of his father's exploits, all the way to his promotion to head of the Auror office. It felt good for him to just talk to someone for a while and unwind about the things that worried him the most. Neil didn't really interrupt him; he was a good listener and only pushed Albus when he seemed to be stuck for words. He didn't seem particularly surprised or awed by Albus' connection to such an important man in the wizarding community, which Albus appreciated immensely. Albus loved his father, but he hated the attention he got because of him. By the time Albus had finished his tale, the Common Room was like a highway at rush hour, as everyone was heading down for breakfast. Albus and Neil decided to follow the crowd and head down together.

Rose's first night in Gryffindor house had been a good one. She hadn't needed to tell Mitchell about modern wizarding world history as the prefects did that for her. After the second war, the Gryffindor prefects had decided to give the new first years, even the Purebloods, a briefing about what had happened so that everyone would be on the same page. Rose didn't really listen much to Dominique Weasley's long-winded explanations. Her cousin spoke often and with as many words as possible in a high breathy tone, tainted by a minor French accent. They didn't really get along; Rose preferred to hang out with Dominique's younger brother, Louis, but he was in Ravenclaw. Instead, she amused herself by watching her cousin Fred on the other side of the room; he was clearly up to something devious since he was consulting with the Scamander brothers. They broke out into laughter periodically and turned the otherwise sleepy scene into a lively party.

Rose's gaze drifted for a moment towards the corner of the room. James was sitting by himself, darkening the lighthearted atmosphere. His brow was furrowed, and he was wearing a distinctly brooding look which Rose had never expected to see on his face. He was typically an extremely jovial person, but Albus' situation must have aroused his serious side. Rose wanted to talk to him, to make sure he was okay, and that he wasn't planning anything dangerous, but before she could do so Dominique had dismissed them and James had disappeared. Rose sighed and headed up the staircase to meet her new roommates.

She was well acquainted with Ella Jordan, as their parents were mutual friends, and was quite pleased to find that she was sharing a room with her. Ella was a pleasant, calm person, the kind of girl you always found you could confide in about anything. She had also met Mel McLaggen before, though only briefly. Rose had still been able to figure out that Mel was certainly the gossiping type. She was the person who knew everything about everybody. One of the other two introduced herself as Iza Peakes, and Rose thought she recognized the last name from somewhere. She felt immediate good vibes from Iza, as though she was just a generally fun person to hang out with. Finally, the last girl said her name was Cayle Rin. She was clearly Muggle-born and seemed to be very shy.

After their short introductions, everyone had settled down to bed. Rose had immediately fallen asleep on the soft, squishy mattress covered in warm fluffy blankets. Now, the morning after, she could hardly believe she had felt anxious last night. She vaguely wondered why she still felt a strange nagging as she yawned lazily, stepping into the Great Hall. Then she stopped and remembered.

**A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter.**


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